About

David Adams is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College of Medical and Dental Sciences. The College consists of five Schools: Cancer Sciences; Clinical and Experimental Medicine; Dentistry; Health and Population Sciences; Immunity and Infection.

The College has over 1400 staff and brings together healthcare-related research and education including medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy and biomedical sciences.

David Adams is Professor of Hepatology and Dean of Medicine for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. He is also director of the Centre for Liver Research and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Birmingham Liver Biomedical Research Unit and lead for translational research in the MRC Centre for Immune Regulation.

In this video Professor David Adams (Dean of Medicine and Professor of Hepatology, College of Medical and Dental Sciences) describes his career to date, his passion for his research and how it is helping to change the world, and how he enjoys working with postgraduate researchers from the UK and abroad.

Qualifications

Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Science 2000

Fellow of Royal College of Physicians 1997

Member the Royal College of Physicians 1984

MD Medicine 1990

MBChB 1981

Biography

David's clinical interests are transplant hepatology and autoimmune liver disease. Laboratory research interests are focused on mechanisms of immune-mediated liver disease. After initial training in hepatology in Birmingham he continued his immunology training with Dr Stephen Shaw at the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA before being appointed to the Chair of hepatology in Birmingham in 1997. He is currently an associate editor of Liver Transplantation and the American Journal of Physiology and special section editor for the Journal of hepatology. He served on the scientific committee and governing board of the European Association for Study of the Liver between 2004-2007 and currently sits on its Ethics committee. he was a councillor for the European Society for Organ Transplantation between 2004-2008. He was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2000. He has a long-standing interest in understanding how leukocyte-endothelial interactions regulate the recruitment of effector cells in chronic liver disease and his group have defined molecular mechanisms used by hepatic endothelium to control the entry of leukocytes from the blood. They have recently begun to use this information to develop cell therapy for liver disease by targeting pathways involved in the recruitment of damaging effector cells or by promoting the recruitment of therapeutic cells including dendritic cells, stem cells and regulatory T cells that may be used to manipulate immune responses in patients in vivo.

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

He has supervised more than 25 PhD and MD students in various areas of immunology including inflammatory liver disease, leucocyte trafficking and immune regulation.

Research

RESEARCH THEMES

Tumour Immunology and Immune/Gene Therapy

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Laboratory research is focused on mechanisms of immune-mediated liver disease and leucocyte trafficking. Long-standing interest in understanding how leukocyte-endothelial interactions regulate the recruitment of effector cells in liver disease and how the local microenvironment within the liver modulates immune/inflammatory responses. Having defined molecular mechanisms that control the entry of leukocytes from the blood the group have started to use this information to develop cell and immunnotherapy for liver disease within the NIHR BRU Centre for Liver Disease. This includes not only blocking pathways involved in the recruitment of damaging effector cells but also promoting the recruitment of therapeutic cells including dendritic cells, stem cells and regulatory T cells that may be used to manipulate immune responses in patients in vivo.

Other activities

Consultant Physician Liver Unit Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Editorial Boards

Member of the Editorial Board of Gut since 1995

Member of the Editorial Board of Transplantation 1996- 2005

Associate Editor Liver 1997-2002

Member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Physiology: Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology section since 1997-2000